Aspen and UOP team up on refinery simulation

Aspen Technology, the process simulation specialist, has announced an agreement with UOP, the process licensor to the petroleum refining industries, to market Aspen RefSYS, a jointly developed software product for refinery-wide simulation and optimisation.

AspenTech and UOP have had an ongoing relationship developing software solutions to the oil industry, but in many of today’s refineries rigorous simulation models are confined to individual process units. Refinery-wide optimisation decisions are instead generally made using LP (linear programming) models, which are not typical used by engineering and operational teams.

What Aspen RefSYS offers, say its developers, is the ability to optimise refinery-wide performance using a fully integrated, rigorous engineering model of all their facilities.

A combination of flowsheet simulation with accurate kinetic reactor models is said to enable refiners to make improved economic decisions throughout the refinery, from crude feed to final product blending.

At a recent European Refining Technology Conference meeting in London, BP Oil’s Ron Sudkamp described the application of the software at the company’s Coryton refinery in Essex. Here savings have already been achieved through a better understanding of the best mode of operation with existing assets.

According to Frank Whitsura, v-p and general manager of UOP, ’Aspen RefSYS will help increase operating margins, support effective capital expenditures, and provide a platform for continuous improvement in our clients’ operations.’